Red Sox reactions: Blowout win includes near-brawl, Brayan Bello bounce-back and offensive explosion

DETROIT — Instant reactions as the Red Sox (15-21) blow out the Tigers, 10-3, in a game that featured a bludgeoning of Framber Valdez, a strong Brayan Bello performance and a near-brawl at Comerica Park: 1) It wasn’t quite a brawl, but the Red Sox and Tigers found themselves at the brink of fisticuffs in the fourth inning after Valdez — who had just given up back-to-back homers to give the Red Sox 10 runs by the fourth — hit Trevor Story in the upper back with a 94 mph first-pitch fastball. Story clearly thought it was intentional, and so did crew chief Dan Iassogna, who ejected Valdez after the benches cleared. Boston’s dugout emptied out with agitated agitator Willson Contreras leading the charge against Valdez.

The Tigers bench emptied, too, and both teams’ bullpens ran in, but no punches or pushes were thrown. The Red Sox, working with a big lead, never retaliated. Both Story and interim manager Chad Tracy said after the game that they thought Valdez threw at Story intentionally, with Tracy calling the actions “weak.

” 2) The biggest development of the night for the Red Sox? Bello put together a fantastic outing in a somewhat-adjusted role. Pitching in relief of opener Jovani Morán, Bello pitched seven very solid innings, allowing one run on four hits while striking out seven Tigers batters.

It helped some that the Red Sox opened up a massive lead early in the game. But Bello was good before that, needing just seven pitches to record his first three outs. It remains to be seen how the Red Sox will use the righty from here, but he staved off some potential hard conversations by looking like the best version of himself against Detroit.